Stop in Santa Fe

Ramona had always wanted to visit Santa Fe, NM so I had planned our trip for a stop there. We got there in time for a noon tour that was about 90 minutes long on an open-sided tram. We got to see lots of the old downtown and learn the history of Santa Fe. It was the weekend of an artist's festival so the city was very vibrant. - Nancy

Fall Foliage in front of the County Courthouse.

Dad and Ramona in the the Central Plaza.

Royal Gorge

The last tourist stop for me was the Royal Gorge in Cañon City, CO. Hanging high above Colorado’s wild Arkansas River, the Royal Gorge Bridge is America’s highest suspension bridge and a legendary feat of engineering renowned the world over.   Built in 1929 for $350,000, the cost today would easily exceed $20 million. We got a wheel chair for Dad but needed help to get him back up the hill from the bridge. The ramp was definitely not graded to be handicapped accessible. - Nancy

Pike's Peak

View of Pike's Peak from our motel in Colorado Springs

I had planned to drive to Pike's Peak and then learned we could take a Cog Railroad to the top. We didn't have tickets and the website said they were sold out. It was suggested we could get on a wait list if we arrived and there was an opening. So we drove to the train station and got tickets right away. It was a very good decision to go by the train. It was cool at the top and the air was thin but we made it OK. -Nancy

Garden of the Gods

After a short weekend in Iowa Dad, Ramona and I headed west to Colorado. We stopped in Harlan, IA for lunch with my cousin Julie and had a quick stop in Lincoln, NE to see Ron's sister Elaine and her husband Jim. We spent the first night in Kearney, NE. We arrived in Colorado Springs on Oct. 16 in time to see the Garden of the Gods before Sunset.  - Nancy

Family Gathering in Iowa

I flew to Iowa on Oct. 11 to drive Dad and Ramona to Tucson. Today Emily and Craig hosted the Willits family in Des Moines. It was good to see nieces Anne and Emily and their families. My brother Don and his wife Lynn came from St. Louis to spend the weekend in Iowa. My sister-in-law, Martha hosted me Saturday evening in her lovely condo. - Nancy

Anne, Bryan, Nick and Allie

Dad, Don, Ray and Nancy

Don and Lynn

Emliy, Craig, Owen and Charlie

Emily, Anne, Owen, Martha, Ramona

Buying Apples!

On Saturday, October 4th, we got out of bed to a beautiful fall day in Oregon and decided to drive to Hood River to buy apples for eating and drying. We called Marcile Crandall who was happy to accompany us on short notice. We arrived in Hood River at about Noon and stopped for lunch at a Chinese restaurant before driving up to Parkdale to the Kiyukawa Orchards where we bought apple cider, pears, a nice pumpkin, and lot of apples -- Gala, Red & Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp and one or two other varieties.

From the orchards we had a great view of the north side of Mt. Hood, and a view of Mt. Adams (below) to the north.